The invention is in the field of multiple photoflash lamp units, such as planar arrays.
The above-referenced patent applications disclose multiple flash lamp arrays comprising a plurality of flash lamps having their lead-in wires connected to a circuit board provided with switching circuitry for causing sequential flashing of the lamps, and reflectors are positioned between the lamps and the circuit board. As is particularly disclosed in the above-referenced Cote patent applications, the reflectors for the lamps can be made as a single reflector member or unit shaped to provide multiple individual reflectors for the lamps. This reflector member preferably is electrically conductive, such as by being made of metal or metal-coated plastic, and is electrically connected to an electrical "ground" portion of the circuitry on the circuit board. Thus, the reflector member functions as an electrical shield and also increases the stray capacitance to earth ground (or space) of the electrical "ground" of the circuitry, for dissipating electrostatic charges and thus reducing the possibility of accidental flashing of lamps by electrostatic voltage charge on a person or object touching the array, which accidental flashing is particularly prone to occur if the lamps are high voltage types requiring a firing voltage of 1000 or 2000 volts, for example, at low energy. To help achieve the foregoing, the flash array connector is arranged so that an electrical ground terminal thereon is more readily touchable by persons or objects than are other terminals on the connector.
The above-referenced Hanson patent application discloses an arrangement for electrically connecting the conductive reflector to a conductive area on the circuit board, comprising a U-shaped conductive clip member clipped to a web of the reflector unit and extending against the conductive area on the circuit board.